Apollo to launch SE-Asia’s first proton cancer centre

Apollo Hospitals will on Friday launch an exclusive centre that would offer Proton therapy for cancer patients— the first institution to offer the advanced cancer treatment in Southeast Asia.

Apollo Proton Cancer Centre (APCC), which would offer Proton beam therapy considered one of the most superior forms of radiation therapy in treatment of cancers, will be inaugurated by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

The specialised cancer centre has come up at a sprawling campus in Taramani adjacent to the IT corridor at a cost of Rs 1,300 crore.

The APCC is Southeast Asia’s first such centre which uses high-energy proton beam for cancer treatment, and provides targeted treatment and intensification, unlike other radiation treatment. Proton therapy is effective against many kinds of cancers but is particularly effective in challenging cancer sites including tumours affecting the eye and brain, tumours close to the brain stem, spinal cord or other vital organs, head and neck cancers, doctors said on Thursday.

“APCC will be a game changer in cancer treatment in the country. We Indians should be proud that the country now offers most advanced treatment for cancer patients. This advanced proton cancer care centre will go a long way in making India a global healthcare destination,” Apollo Hospitals Chairman Prathap C Reddy told a press conference in Chennai on Thursday.

While the conventional radiotherapy uses high energy beams of radiation to destroy cancerous cells, Proton Therapy uses high energy proton beam (sub-atomic particles) to achieve the same impact but without the “collateral damage.”

Doctors said that the treatment team would regulate the energy of the protons and use advanced treatment planning system that targets at the tumour at the precise site of the cancer, thereby resulting in “minimal damage” to the surrounding healthy tissues and reduced side effects.

Proton therapy irradiates diseased tissues more effectively when compared to conventional gamma or x-ray radiation therapy, doctors said, adding the advanced therapy used to treat deep-seated tumours and paediatric cancers.

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) had in December issued licence to the APCC to operate the proton therapy facility for treating cancer patients. An official with the AERB said that the facility, Proteus 235, is the first of its kind in India and Southeast Asia.